Kitty

6 months later, Anissina was still a cat. As for Conrart, he still kept that secret under wraps in fear that she would get her revenge on him once she returns to her real form again. Anissina the Cat still endured her life as Gwendal's pet but he still remained clueless about the cat's real identity and where she actually came from.

A kingdom-wide search already took place for 2 whole months and eventually, Gwendal already sent out troops to other kingdoms including various human territories to search for Anissina or clues related to the person who may have kidnapped her. It seemed to Gwendal and the rest that she had disappeared without a trace or if she had been killed, her killer must have been very talented in hiding her body. The latter scenario could never be accepted by Gwendal. In fact, he would always refuse to accept the possibility that Anissina could be dead already. He would always be in denial and when he did so, he would act so enraged that even his own mother and brothers would be afraid of him.

As for Gisela and Wolfram, the two kept their "little secret" to themselves and refused to tell anyone because they decided to perform their own investigation on the matter. The two were determined that Conrart was responsible for Anissina's disappearance so when Gunter assigned him to visit Caloria, Gisela asked permission from her father if she and Wolfram could visit the new hot springs resort near the bordering mountains of Big Shimaron. She said that Wolfram wanted to study the place for himself to check if it would be suitable for taking future vacations in. Without thinking too much about it, Gunter agreed and let the two go. Unknown to him and to everyone else, Gisela and Wolfram would be following Conrart in secret to investigate him closely.

Gwendal was in his office one late afternoon reading a letter that Lord von Karbelnikoff had written to him about pronouncing Anissina dead when Gunter arrived to inform him that Conrart, Gisela and Wolfram had left already.

Gwendal stressfully set the letter aside and rubbed his forehead with an index finger. "Gisela and Wolfram? They've been spending too much time together and they're avoiding people. Are they alright?" he asked. He figured that if he diverted his attention to his youngest brother and his friend's daughter's current relationship, he could try to forget the stress he felt towards the possibility that Anissina could be dead already. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in doing so. He felt that he had no interest in his youngest brother's affairs with other mazoku when he had more important matters to think about—like Anissina and whether she is still alive or already dead.

"I'm not sure. They seem to be acting rather cautiously towards Conrart, too." Gunter explained.

"Conrart?" Gwendal raised his eyebrows and then shook his head. "That's ridiculous." He mumbled.

Gunter noticed the distressed look on Gwendal's face and he immediately knew that it had something to do with the letter he was reading when he arrived. "Is that from Anissina's brother?" he asked, referring to the letter.

Gwendal shook his head. "It's from her father. He said that he's ready to accept the fact that Anissina could already be dead…" his voice obviously cracked but he tried to act like it did not matter. To further hide his discomfort, he got up and walked over to the window. He stared straight at the setting sun for a moment until Gunter spoke up, "I know you don't want to accept the fact that she could be dead already. I feel the same way, too, you know. She was one feisty, highly intelligent and brave woman… and now she's gone it's like… the Castle is empty."

Gwendal turned around and saw the miserable look on his friend's face. Gunter's eyes were glistening with tears and Gwendal noticed that he had been holding one of the inventions that resembled a helmet with antennas. "I really miss her, Gwendal!" Gunter wailed before putting on the helmet. "I wish she was here again." he sobbed and he turned away in a dramatic manner. "I swear I'd let her experiment on me again and again and I won't complain or whine or say anything that would offend her! Oh how I long for those days when she would strap me down on a chair so she could attach wires on my body and…" he trailed off before bursting further into tears. "I'm sorry for weeping like this. I guess you can never really know how much you appreciate the company of somebody until they are gone!" and Gunter ran out, exiting the room in a dramatic manner that would have raised eyebrows on an ordinary occasion.

Gwendal just stood there while recalling the last sentence Gunter mentioned to him.

…you can never really know how much you appreciate the company of somebody until they are gone!

Anissina, still in her cat form, was slumped on Gwendal's bed and sleeping soundly on the pile of her clothes that he decided to keep in his room since he got it 6 months ago. However, she woke up immediately when Gwendal arrived. She was not sure whether he meant to slam the door or not but that action of his made her wake up in surprise. Her tail became bushy due to surprise and she also hissed. However, instead of feeling more resentful towards his angry demeanor, she decided to forget about it when she realized that he looked very miserable and that he had a few tears streaming down his face. It was the first time she had ever seen him cry and she figured that he probably had to hide from everybody else so he went to his room instead. She wondered why he was crying and she immediately jumped off from the bed and ran to him.

She tilted her head to the side while looking at him in wonder. "Gwendal, why are you crying? Did something bad happen?" she wanted to ask him.

Gwendal saw her and stared into her blue eyes. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat before wiping his tears away. He bent down to pick up the cat and she thought her bones would break her bones when he just took her in his arms and held her tightly against his chest.

"I can never… I can never accept…" he struggled to say but he was too angry for some reason that Anissina could not comprehend. He closed his eyes and opened them again. "I could never forgive myself if she died and I wasn't even able to do anything about it. But whoever killed her, damn him! When I catch him, I shall kill him with my own sword, slice him into pieces, burn him, spit on his ashes, and burn his ashes some more!" he said angrily.

Anissina was shocked when she heard him say those words. He definitely sounded like he meant them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on there! Who died and you're so angry? 'She' died? Who died? Who's the 'she'? Did something bad happen to Cecilie or Gisela or…" she stopped her thoughts. Who else couldshe be?

He carelessly dropped her to the floor and walked to the bed to pick up Anissina's clothes. Anissina watched weakly as he embraced the clothes and buried his face in them. She felt like she was in another dimension because Gwendal was actually crying and sobbing hysterically—something that he would never ever do. "Well whatever is bothering him must have really gotten into his soul already. He can't handle it anymore. Poor Gwendal. I wish I could do something for him…" she thought sadly.

"Now it's too late. I can't…" she heard him say although the last part of the sentence was already muffled by the clothes. She walked over to him and climbed up on the bed so she could let out a loud meow and make him look directly at her. "Who are you talking about?" her mind was screaming.

Gwendal looked bitterly into the cat's blue eyes and took a long deep breath as he did so. He smiled and petted her head. "Your eyes remind me so much of her, Anissina." He picked her up and embraced her again. "I wish she was still here. I'm sure she'd love to meet you. I even named you after her because…" he sighed and closed his eyes again. "…and now she's gone I'm just… miserable and… I have to admit I had never felt so lonely like this before. I thought I'd be fine but…" he trailed off. He smiled sadly at her as he gazed into her eyes again. "Why am I even talking to you? You're a cat. I don't think you're capable of understanding anything I'm saying anyway." He said before he settled her down on the bed. "But then again, I think it's alright that you can't understand me." He took a deep breath as he hesitantly lowered his gaze to the floor. At least everything I have ever felt for Anissina is going to be a secret forever." He said.

Anissina gazed at him curiously. She had no idea how to react but she felt very awkward. She knew that if Gwendal found out that she had been Anissina the Cat all along, he would feel very embarrassed to the point that he may not be able to look at her the same way again. She observed the way Gwendal clutched her clothes while she mentally noted the tearstains on his cheeks and the redness of the whites of his eyes. For the first time in many years, she felt like crying because she pitied him. She could not bear seeing him suffering like that. She wished she could ensure him that she was okay and that she had been by his side all along.

The soft creaking of the door interrupted both their thoughts and they both turned to the tall blonde woman entering the room. Gwendal had a solemn look on his face as he saw his mother looking at him sympathetically. "Mother," he spoke up with a tone that faltered on the last syllable.

Cecilie von Spitzweg had tears in her eyes as she carefully shut the door and leaned against it. "I already spoke to Anissina's father. He wants us to join the family tomorrow at sundown. There will be a ceremony to mourn for Anissina's fate by the sea of the Karbelnikoff Castle." She explained.

Anissina's left eye twitched. "What? But I'm not dead--… but then again, maybe I'm dead to them because they don't know that I'm here!" she thought.

Gwendal swallowed hard as he tried to maintain a calm composure. However, he clenched his fists very tightly as he looked disdainfully at his mother. "Mother, I cannot… I am…" he stammered.

Cecilie rushed to her eldest son and embraced him tightly. Anissina watched and felt her heart breaking when she saw Lady Celi weeping. "Oh Gwendal, I know how you feel. I know Anissina is very special to you but it's time for us to let go and just accept…"

"No, mother! I cannot!" Gwendal said stubbornly. To Anissina, he sounded like a child once again. She could not see his face because he had his back towards her but she could tell that he was crying again.

"Is it me or everything is getting weirder and weirder by the minute? And I wonder where Conrart is. Why isn't he doing anything?" Anissina thought miserably as she watched Cecilie trying to console her beloved eldest son.

Anissina turned away and walked over to Gwendal's desk. She could not take looking at the mother and son grieving for her "death" anymore. She knew she had to let them know. "Oh fine. I'm going to let the world know that I, Anissina von Karbelnikoff, had failed an experiment and had turned herself into a cat!" she thought while eying the quill and ink and the pile of papers on the desk. She attempted to jump up but her jump was not enough to get herself on top of the table. Instead, only her two front paws were able to reach the edge and she eventually slipped and fell to the floor.

Gwendal saw what happened and he immediately let go of his mother to run to Anissina the Cat. "Anissina," he called out worriedly as he scooped her up in his arms and cradled her gently.

She could only let out a miserable meow while thinking, "What's happening to me? How come I suddenly don't have enough energy to move?" she gazed up at Gwendal and he appeared very blurry. "What's happening? I can't see clearly!" she began to panic but soon, even her thoughts became incoherent.

Cecilie eyed her son curiously. "…What did you just call that kitty?" she asked.

Gwendal took a deep breath as he faced his mother with a dignified look on his face. "Anissina." He answered before looking at the cat again. "What's happening to her?" he wondered as he carried her to the bed and settled her there.

"You named the cat 'Anissina'?" Cecilie asked in awe.

"Yes I did. She reminded me so much of her and…" Gwendal trailed off. He almost said something that he knew would make her mother feel happy for him. However, he knew that it was too late to express that statement to his mother anyway so he just stopped himself.

Cecilie smiled sadly. "Gwendal dear, I know you're hurting deep down inside. You loved her, didn't you?" she asked.

Gwendal just kept his gaze on the cat as he watched her breathe in and out slowly. "…It's too late, mother." He mumbled.

And Anissina closed her eyes.

Conrart was not sure but ever since he left Shin Makoku, he already felt as if somebody was following him. He asked the soldiers who escorted him whether there were stowaways in the ship or not. The soldiers already searched the entire ship but found no traces of stowaways.

Unknown to him, Wolfram and Gisela were among the soldiers that he had chosen to come with him to Caloria. Before the ship set sail, Gisela fed two soldiers some candy that she claimed can combat seasickness. A few moments after digesting the candy, the two soldiers fell asleep and that was when Gisela and Wolfram stole their clothes and left them in a secluded alley a few meters away from the docks.

As for Wolfram, he was having a hard time trying to combat his seasickness as he and Gisela went to one of the chambers to pretend to "search" for the stowaways. "I think you should lie down for a while, Excellency." She suggested.

"No, I'm fine." He said before swallowing the lump forming in his throat. He was not sure if that was spit or vomit but it felt bitter. "You know, I have a feeling that his second victim is going to be Flynn." He said.

Gisela blinked. "Why?" she asked.

"I've read in some books that Anissina had written about a serial killer who tries to woo women and if the woman doesn't like him, he'd kill her. I figured that Conrart secretly liked Anissina, tried to seduce her, and when she refused, he killed her! Now he's going to Flynn and make her into his second victim!..." Wolfram trailed off and his eyes widened in shock. "Hey, what if Julia was his first victim and Anissina's the second and then… Flynn is the third… Oh no! You're going to be next after Flynn dies!" he said frantically while trying to keep his composure. He felt sicker in his stomach at the thought of Conrart killing Gisela after Flynn.

Gisela shook her head. At that time, she decided not to worry about her own life. She was more concerned for Wolfram's health and present condition than her own safety. "You're thinking incoherently. I think the seasickness is getting to you. You're pale, cold, and sweating in buckets. You should seriously lie down for a while." She suggested although she had to admit, she was getting worried about their situation and about Conrart Weller, the suspected serial killer.

"No, we have to stop Conrart! I may not like Flynn very much but…" Wolfram swallowed another vomit rising up from his gut to his throat. "…if he kills her, then you're going to be next! I can't let that happen!"

Gisela looked at him curiously. "…you don't want me to die?" she asked.

"Of course not! If you died, who am I going to confide to about Conrart's behavior? You're the only one who is most likely to believe me anyway. Besides, Yuuri is not here and I'm sure that even if I told him about Conrart being a killer, he would just deny it, too! If it isn't obvious, Yuuri is really very attached to Conrart and even if he's a lady killer, he'd still defend his innocence." Wolfram said defensively as he covered his mouth and crouched down.

Gisela immediately came to his aid and gently rubbed his back. "I think you should just let it all out—the vomit, I mean. You'll feel sicker if you swallow it again and again." she suggested gently. "Come on, let's go outside so you won't make a mess here." She said as she led the way.

Conrart arrived in Caloria by 9 in the evening and he went straight to Flynn's mansion. He selected 4 soldiers to come with him and among them were Gisela and Wolfram whom he failed to recognize because of their disguise complete with the headgear that contributed to hiding the upper areas of their faces.

Baker, Flynn's right-hand man, led Conrart and the soldiers to a tearoom on the second floor where Flynn Gilbitt was. Upon entering the tea room, Flynn looked up from the book that she was reading and smiled warmly at Conrart Weller. "Lord Weller, it's a pleasure having you here." She said as she got up and put down the book on the chair before she approached him.

Wolfram observed the way Conrart looked at Flynn.

"You look very lovely tonight, Lady Flynn." Conrart said as he knelt down and took her hand so he could kiss it.

Wolfram raised his eyebrows when he saw that. "That's it! He's trying to woo her, Gisela!" his mind was screaming but all he could do was look at Gisela and alert her with his gaze. She kept still as she continued to watch Conrart and Flynn exchange greetings and salutations.

The topic finally changed when Flynn brought up the subject about Anissina's "untimely death". Gisela and Wolfram observed the look on Conrart's face when Flynn mentioned that.

Conrart swallowed hard but he tried to maintain a calm composure. "Anissina? Dead?" he asked.

Flynn had a sad look on her face as she nodded. "Lord von Kleist sent a message to all leaders this early evening about the entire Shin Makoku mourning for Lady Anissina von Karbelnikoff's mysterious death. According to him, there is going to be a memorial service tomorrow. If it's not any trouble, can I come back with you to Shin Makoku tonight so I could be there tomorrow and participate?" she asked Conrart.

Conrart was at a loss for words. He was thinking of how he could explain that Anissina was alright. However, he knew that if he said something, he would appear suspicious and they would think that he had something to do with her "death". The last thing he would want to happen was to make the situation much worse for himself and for Anissina's sake.

Meanwhile, Gisela and Wolfram waited for Conrart's response as the latter eyed him suspiciously. Conrart just smiled in his usual dashing debonair way as he said, "It's alright, Lady Flynn, you can come with me."

Wolfram grunted while trying to restrain himself from reacting. It was probably beneficial for him to have Gisela around to further restrain him, too.

"Thank you, Lord Weller. I am forever grateful to you." They heard Flynn say.

"We'll leave around midnight. Is that alright?" Conrart inquired.

"Oh yes, you have to make your rounds here in Caloria first, right? Well alright, we can leave at midnight." Flynn agreed.

Wolfram observed the smug grin on his brother's face. He got hold of Gisela's hand and tugged it. "Gisela, we have to stop him!" he muttered.

She shrugged, her eyes asking him how. He looked away and worriedly looked at Flynn. He did not know what to do either. He wondered if they should attack Conrart already but he knew Gisela would tell him not to because it would seem brash.

The two were interrupted in conceptualizing their plan of action when Conrart approached them. "Alright, the two of you are coming with me. We'll make our rounds and we'll depart by midnight with Lady Flynn." He told them before turning to the 2 other soldiers. "As for you, please stay here with Lady Flynn and when it's time to go, please escort her to the ship." He instructed.

"Yes, sir," the two other soldiers answered. Wolfram subtly cleared his throat and made it a point to lower his voice as he and Gisela responded, "Sir, yes, sir."

Conrart did not seem suspicious at all. Gisela simply felt proud of herself and Wolfram's disguise.

As soon as Conrart already got out on the streets of Caloria, Wolfram prepared to confront him. Gisela was still a little apprehensive about the idea of Wolfram's idea of confronting Conrart already but she knew that something had to be done immediately if they wanted to save Flynn… and herself.

Conrart looked up at the starry sky as he breathed in the cool evening air.

"Something on your mind, Lord Weller?" asked a familiar voice from behind him. Surprised, Conrart turned around and stared carefully at the two "soldiers" following him. "Wolfram?" he asked in disbelief.

Wolfram took off his headgear and Conrart saw the way his younger brother was staring at him. "What are you up to, Lord Weller?" Wolfram inquired.

Conrart smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "Wolfram, what are you doing here? How did you…" he trailed off when the other "soldier" made a move to take off her headgear. "Gisela! You're here, too!" he exclaimed. Observing the way the two young mazoku were dressed and the fact that they followed him all the way from Shin Makoku, Conrart realized that he was going to be in big trouble. A wave of panic rushed through his mind but he tried to keep calm. He already knew that Wolfram and Gisela's actions had something to do with Anissina's "disappearance".

"Lord Weller, do you know where Anissina is?" Gisela asked straightforwardly.

Wolfram observed that Conrart seemed to have been taken aback by the question. "What's wrong, Conrart? You act like you're hiding something. Are you?" he asked.

Conrart tried to keep a straight face. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"That's the question guilty perpetrators always ask whenever they're being accused of something! You know where Anissina is, don't you?" Wolfram demanded.

Conrart had no clue how Wolfram or Gisela could have known that he knew something all along but he had to admit: he was impressed on their observational and investigative skills. He was also curious on how they came up with the conclusion that he had something to do with what happened to Anissina. However, he took that as a sign to finally come clean. He thought for a few moments on whether he could trust them or not but eventually, he knew he had to tell them the truth. He sighed. "Alright, I won't lie to you anymore. I know where Anissina is." He said calmly.

Wolfram's eyes widened and he exchanged worried looks with Gisela before turning back to his older brother again. "Well where is she?" he asked stiffly.

"She's in the Castle." Conrart answered.

"Which Castle?"

"Blood Pledge Castle."

"You're lying! You took her someplace else and killed her!" Wolfram pointed out. He could not take it anymore so he decided to get straight to the point already.

Conrart could not understand how his brother could even think like that. "…Killed her? What are you talking about? I would never hurt Anissina…"

"Yeah you could! For all I know you secretly loved her and then you wanted her all to yourself but you knew you couldn't so you killed her!"

Conrart stared wide-eyed at his younger brother and then turned to Gisela. "Gisela, please explain to me what's going on." He said calmly.

Gisela braced herself. "No, Lord Weller. I think you should start explaining yourself first. Where is Anissina and what did you do to her?" she asked while trying to sound calm.

There was no way he could deny anything anymore. The two young mazoku believe that he killed Anissina.

Killed.

Of all the things that could enter their minds, why would they even think that he was capable of hurting Anissina? He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes for a while before gazing at them again. "She turned into a cat."

Wolfram and Gisela wondered if he just said that to divert their attention. "…a cat?" the latter repeated.

Wolfram grabbed hold of his sword. "I hate being lied to, Conrart, so just tell us the truth!"

Conrart raised his hands to him. "Hold on a moment. I'm telling the truth. I would never lie to you. Anissina turned into a cat because of an experiment that went wrong. Remember the cat with red fur that I found in her laboratory several months ago? That's her." He said.

The two stared at him. They do not know whether to believe him or not. "The cat with red fur?" Wolfram asked.

And Conrart braced himself to continue explaining to them what happened to Anissina.

Author's Note: I know how disturbing it is to imagine Gwendal crying and then actually making him do it. I had a hard time without having to risk OOC. But then again, I knew I had to because I believe the story calls for it. I wouldn't have it any other way. So if you feel that it was kind of out-of-character, ugh. Spare me the details. I already know. I'm just a little frustrated. I think I wasn't able to portray him well. It's like he just totally lost it.

The final chapter is coming. Brace yourselves for more of my silliness.